Description

Small Farm Animal Sanctuary, 50 KM South of Dunedin. There are pigs, horses, sheep, chickens, dogs.
Large original farm house and grounds. Beautiful in summer, cold in winter!
We both work full time and need people to be here for animals through the day. Also we look for the skills we need for current projects. Please mention specific skills you have in request email.
At the moment focus is finishing painting the house and lots of dog walking.
There is something here to suit most people's abilities.
We prefer positive people who appreciate spending time with animals, quiet time in the country but can work well with other volunteers. Plenty of food, time off and entertainment!

Type of help

GardeningGeneral MaintenanceHelp in the houseAnimal care

Help

Need help with animals, gardens and household chores. Sometimes outdoors projects on the property or renovation inside. Please say if you have some specific practical skills.
Nothing too difficult but need people with initiative, maturity and like being outdoors.

Cultural exchange and learning opportunities

Learn a lot about animal care, basic garden maintenance including vege gardening. Wholesome cooking and baking if interested. I work in Science and Brent works in a Government Dept.

Languages spoken

English

Accommodation

Upstairs double bedroom with shared bathroom. Electric blankets on beds and plenty of bedding and extras in room. Unlimited wifi and Netflix.
I cook all the meals unless you want to help. Plenty of food for big appetites! Plant based meals as this is a Animal Sanctuary, not a farm

What else ...

Good stop between Dunedin and the Catlins, Te Anau or Queenstown.
Prefer own transport but sometimes possible to collect you off bus at Milton.
Time off here spent enjoying the grounds, walking in surrounding farms and entertainment room.

A little more information

Internet access

Limited internet access

We have pets

We are smokers

How many Workawayers can stay?

More than two

Hours expected

We only were able to have Connor stay for a short while, and he came at short notice to help with some heavy work.
In that time he shoveled tons of gravel to repair the driveway, dug up drains to repair some pipes as well as help with animal care. He was an extremely tidy house guest and entertained our other volunteers with his good… read more nature.
Connor has a lot of skills that mean he could contribute to so many projects so if he requests to help you, take the opportunity. Not to be underestimated, he undersells himself on his profile! He is very strong, hard working and intelligent. His help was greatly appreciated.

What an excellent help Monique was for us at a busy end of work year. She took responsibility for our 5 dogs, including the very energetic young ones that need constant walking. She has a lot of skill with dogs and behavior management but only in the kindest way. She truly loves dogs and this was very valued. Monique has a big personality and is… read more great for chatting but also good at being independent as she need to work on her online business too. She understands good time management and is direct as to what she likes. Was pleased she chose to become a vegetarian while staying with us, reflecting the new bonds she made with our other rescue animals. I appreciated the many hours of cleaning up manure from the paddocks she did, as well as joining in well with other volunteers to keep the house clean and tidy. When Dutch B&B guests came she welcomed them so that was a bonus! Sincere, confident, fun loving Monique will contribute well to any project she chooses to be involved with.

I was at Pippa’s and Brent’s place for over 3 weeks. It is a lovely place with great care for animals. My major task was being a dog mom which suited me perfectly. But I also fell in love with the pigs and got more comfortable around horses. This experience gave a several new insights on life and made me grow as a person. I changed my… read more ‘occasionally eating meat’ status into ‘vegetarian’ which is a big step for me. All caused by Pippa’s nice vegan cooking and delicious salty and sweet treats. It was an honor to be the chosen one and stay at your place since I know you get a lot of requests. All the best!

Frieda was very motivated to come here and impressed me with her independence and confidence considering this her first volunteer job in NZ. She is very reliable and does exactly as asked and took initiative in looking for extra jobs that needed doing. Frieda is a happy, sensible person and had no difficulty with managing planting out vegetables,… read more weeding and did a special project or preparing and then painting a very old door. Main jobs here are around animal care and she easily coped with walking our energetic young dogs, feeding many chickens. Also worked on mucking our paddocks and helping with household jobs. She worked in well with the other volunteers and she has a nice balanced approach to volunteering and understands what she wants to gain and certainly gave us really good value in her work here. An intelligent, sincere and organized young woman. Definitely recommend.

Always a relief to host volunteers like Jessica and Jackson. Really easy to communicate what is required and they understand what we are needing to achieve. They are very competent people who even if they have not done something before, quickly learn and complete the task. I found them very fastidious in how they do jobs and have a natural… read more tidiness in themselves that will make them welcome wherever they go! I enjoyed our discussions as they are curious and open minded to new ideas and this well balanced with good sense of humor and an energy to get things done and make the most of their volunteer experience. They took full responsibility for the feeding regime of a lot of animals, walking energetic dogs, cleaning up the paddocks, painting windowsills and running a big house. Also we were able to go away for a long weekend and they are reliably managed everything, inducted new volunteers and completed a large tidy up project. Will be valued volunteers for any project they choose to apply to.

Thank you Pippa & Brent for letting us stay at your beautiul animal sanctuary. We had a wonderful stay for a week and a half. Pippa, you are wonderful vegan cook and a very caring genuine person. You helped us learn about Veganism and we are keen to continue as Vegans. We feel this experience has been extremely beneficial and we are extremely… read more grateful to you and all the animals in your care. We love them all (even Donald!). Hope we can stay with you again one day. Thanks
Jess & Jackson

Pippa is very caring towards volunteers. Always makes sure that you have enough food! Sat down with me at the end of her work day to help me come up with a travel plan, via Google earth.and fare comparison websites
And dropped me off in Dunedin for a day trip, just to be nice!

When I came, and saw the beautiful room, the two electric blankets,… read more the dressing gown and pajamas and second-floor balcony, saw the little horse Tallulah and the GREEN GREEN GREEN hills and (white) sheep, got homemade vegan cookies, I thought, "That's it. I'm never leaving!"

Speaking of the animals:
The 5 dogs are adorable (even solemn Toby), although admittedly a handful.(You open and close a lot of doors,.either to let dogs in or to keep them out!)

I haven't found the "goodness" that another workaways described in Donald the Turkey's heart, but I empathize with him.

The chickens are lovely...I never met so many different kinds! And the roosters are cute, although shy.

Pablo Pig is quite an affectionate character. Pigs Patsy and Paula, despite being mother and daughter, will disregard all family sentiment when it comes to getting horse pellets! That sweet little Tallulah horse is taller than her companions, the sheep and pigs, but too shy to compete with them for pellets.

I didn't know tall horses Monty and Mel well, but they cut quite a picture, running across the paddock.

Shout out to the wild rabbits, living and dead.

The other volunteers that I met were well behaved, earnest young people. U go, Germany!

Would have liked to have Maria stay longer as she is one of those volunteers that is always looking and finding things to tidy and clean- that's what every Host hope for! Maria is highly responsible and a very intelligent person. She takes on what you ask of her and sincerely does her best. Nothing was too much trouble and she seemed very grateful… read more for little things, so she is easy to host. She looked after 5 dog, did lots of walking them, helped with Guests, did heaps in the house and looked after the outside animal's care. She is a kind person and worked in well with the other volunteers.
She is sincere in what she does and has a thoughtful manner. I greatly appreciate the work and efforts she made here.

Carolina and Pablo are a lovely couple, full of smiles and are both very genuine with caring for animals. They are clever with what they can do and while here were building the insides of their campervan. Pablo did a great job building a fence here, repairing some old steps and working with Brent on the boundary pigs trying to retain the pigs!… read more Carolina has the better English and takes responsibility of making sure Pablo understands. However, he was noticeably better at end of their stay here and they were bot a delight to chat with. Above all I greatly appreciate that they took full charge of managing the 5 dogs, all the animals and big house and property while I was away overseas for 3 weeks. They are highly trustworthy and hard working. Most importantly they were kind to our animals and made sure they were well cared for as well as getting lots of other helpful things done.

My five week stay at Pippa`s vegan farm was very rewarding. Taking care of rescued animals can be a challenge but it`s worth every minute. The best part of my stay was to get to know all the animals and their individual personalities. I also learned how to cook delicious vegan food and met some really cool volunteers. I am grateful to have learned… read more so much from Pippa about how animals are mistreated because it has made me more compassionate, conscious and aware. Pippa`s home is charming, comfortable and her vegan cooking and baking are out of this world! Definitely recommend this Workaway experience.

Very heart warming couple to host. Big smiles and lots of energy for all of our many tasks here. They did heaps of dog walking, stacking wood and cleaning up the paddocks of all the horse mess. They had no problem with the feeding regime of dogs. pigs, hens, sheep and horses. They were happy to help in the house and cleaning up in kitchen. Very… read more competent and trustworthy people. We were able to have a weekend away and Katie and Oliver looked after all the animals and property, for which we were very grateful. Excellent company and good to chat with, they have good practical skills and understand well what is needed to make a big difference.

(Excellent
)

23/03/2018

Left by host for Workawayer (Cécile)

Cecile and Louise came to us at short notice and they ran the household and looked after our many animals while I was away for work. Although I only was with them for a short while when I came home I found them very lovely and fastidious and extremely thoughtful about what they do. They had quite a lot to deal with dog walking and caring for the… read more animals as well as doing own cooking and keeping the house in order. They are quiet and respectful house guests and willing to help with whatever asked of them and had a kind manner about them. Really appreciate volunteers like them that can trust while I have to work.

Absolutely exceptional Worker! We are new to this Workaway platform and had hoped to find such a skilled volunteer as Danny. Having hosted over 300 volunteers, this guy has been our most fantastic volunteer yet. Danny stayed 5 weeks and we wished it could be longer. We had just started painting our very difficult house and he was able to take over… read more and make some significant progress. He helped me decide on colors and then did meticulous preparation and painting. Worked many more hours every day, despite some bad weather, as he has a real pride in his work.
In addition he got up early to walk the dogs, which was an immense help. Danny is self managing, intelligent and charming company, immaculate guest and has a very well balanced attitude to all he approaches.
We feel very fortunate to have him choose our place and spend so much time as he enthused us to get our project done and he was also very sociable with our many other volunteers, setting a new very high standard.
Hoping he enjoys a well deserved tourist time now in NZ and thank you so very much from us all at the Sanctuary.

(Excellent
)

21/02/2018

Left by host for Workawayer (Gergely)

What an absolutely great choice we made choosing to have Gergely come here to volunteer. He was a real surprise the way he really wanted to try every challenge from catching the Ram for shearing, stacked all our winter firework and all our horses hay. Also he achieved what no one else could, which was to tame the wild Turkey! he does have a real… read more affinity for animals and a genuine interest in learning how to care for them and all aspects of rural life. Because he is a very intelligent person he had no difficulty picking up on what needs to be done. He is quiet, very neat and tidy and earnest about doing things well. I enjoyed his company and he has a gentle sense of humor. As well as outside jobs like mucking out the horse paddock, managing the chicken and dogs feeding, dog walking and lawn mowing he worked well as a team with other volunteers on house work and dishes. Really recommend this guy and think he could tackle most tasks and be an excellent house guest.

(Excellent
)

19/02/2018

Left by host for Workawayer (Lindsey)

We were most grateful to have Lindsey come and stay with us as she waiting for Uni year to begin in Dunedin. She is an exceptional young women who is immaculate in all that she does and did many things that others would not be able to in the house and outside. She joined in with other Volunteers and worked very hard on lawns, mucking out paddocks,… read more animal feeding routines, walking very energetic pups, cleaning up projects inside and all involved in running a big property. She has a gentle, sincere manner and so quietly spoken is easy to live with and host. She has a calm balanced approach and will be an asset to anyone she wants to work for and can be trusted to do more than asked and be a valuable addition to your project.

(Excellent
)

30/01/2018

Left by host for Workawayer (Irene & Eva)

Irene and Eva joined us at a very busy time of the work year to helps us with our 5 dogs, many other rescue animals and large property. They are very patient and fitted in well with the others here and worked as a team. Irene has a great deal of knowledge of dogs and their training. We gained a lot of new ideas that we are now putting into place… read more to help with 2 energetic pups! They are both quiet, tidy and earnest about being helpful. We had a particularly hot weather time while they here and they worked with the others cleaning up after the horses, helped in the kitchen and garden. Well mannered, intelligent people that are open to learning and gaining the most from their travels around the world.

Lovely happy couple that were very easy to host. There were interested in what we are trying to achieve for our animals and property and open to helping with all tasks. Excellent communicators and very polite. Good skills helping in the garden and with lawns. Both were comfortable around our many animals. Tidy, cheerful and hard working, can… read more highly recommend this couple.

We stayed for 1,5 week at Pippa's place and it was wonderful! The house and the garden are really nice and Pippa is a great cook (vegan heaven)! The work was never hard, we looked after the dogs, feed the other animals and worked in the garden. Even tough we are not dog persons we really liked the dogs and the puppies and we had lots of fun with… read more them. The surroundings are great for walks and we got to go to the Catlins on our day off. Thank you Pippa for your hospitality!

My stay here was a beautiful time. Pippa is a really nice woman, she works a lot so you'll be often on your own but she will always have something for you to do. All the animals are nice (even in Donald's heart there is goodness), and it is fullfiling to be around animals and give those ones a good life instead of treating them like things. Also… read more if you want to learn about vegan and how to cook as it this is the house, i left with a lot of knowledge regarding vegan cooking
Thank you Pippa for everything =)

Spectacular couple. Sam has great building skills and he with the help of Natalee rebuilt our upstairs verandah. This saved us a lot and was hugely appreciated. They also cared for a lot of animals including the high maintenance new puppies. Natalee attended to much of the Spring vege planting which is not easy surrounded by chickens and a turkey!… read more They are excellent team workers and both attended to a wide range of garden and paddock work as well as all the usual domestic tasks running a household. Natalee is very fastidious and was always doing extra help with washing and cleaning. Sam was not resting on his laurels for a moment from the building, and was equally helpful with smaller tasks, They have a charm and sense of humor that lights up a room and we had lots of good chats. A couple not to be under-estimated and I see them both having very bright futures in whatever they choose to do. Utterly trust worthy and responsible, feel privileged to have had them in our home and all the care they gave to our many pets.

(Excellent
)

16/10/2017

Left by host for Workawayer (Nathalie )

Spectacular couple. Sam has great building skills and he with the help of Natalee rebuilt our upstairs verandah. This saved us a lot and was hugely appreciated. They also cared for a lot of animals including the high maintenance new puppies. Natalee attended to much of the Spring vege planting which is not easy surrounded by chickens and a turkey!… read more They are excellent team workers and both attended to a wide range of garden and paddock work as well as all the usual domestic tasks running a household. Natalie is very fastidious and was always doing extra help with washing and cleaning. Sam was not resting on his laurels for a moment from the building, and was equally helpful with smaller tasks, They have a charm and sense of humor that lights up a room and we had lots of good chats. A couple not to be under-estimated and I see them both having very bright futures in whatever they choose to do. Utterly trust worthy and responsible, feel privileged to have had them in our home and all the care they gave to our many pets.